At 111 years old, Alexander Imich is the oldest living man in the world.

When he was born on Feb. 3, 1903, in Poland, Theodore Roosevelt was president and the Yankees were playing their first season in New York. In 1939, he left Poland when the Nazis invaded Germany, and he eventually settled in the U.S. in the 1950s with his wife who died in 1986.

The Polish immigrant currently lives in Manhattan's Upper West Side and still appreciates learning and trying new things. As a scholar of the occult, he published a book on paranormal activity at age 92, the New York Times reported.

When asked about the secret to his longevity, Imich responded told WABC-TV that he athletic in his younger days and gave up smoking. Additionally, his friend said that he doesn't have a big appetite and instead eats "like a little bird."

He also attributes some of his health to a healthy diet consisting of chicken, fish and no alcohol. Plus, he took up swimming as a younger man.

He downplayed his long life in an interview with NBC 4 New York Monday saying, "I don't know. I simply didn't die earlier. I have no idea how this happened."

Despite holding the title of oldest male supercentenarian, Imich admits that he doesn't have all of life's answers. He told WABC that he's still trying figure out one question: "I wanted to understand the universe and myself in it."

Imich, however, is not the oldest person in the world. Instead sixty-six women have him beat and are older than him. The oldest person is 116-year-old Misao Okawa of Japan, according to the Gerontology Research Group, reported USA Today.